


Finding the Rhythm

by Imori_Hikaru



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Olympics, Gen, Olympics, Rhythmic Gymnastics, yachi x kiyoko if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:35:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25789705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imori_Hikaru/pseuds/Imori_Hikaru
Summary: This was part of the HQ Olympic Bang! Please check out the artwork that my partner, katrstjarna over on Tumblr, created to go along with it! https://katrstjarna.tumblr.com/post/625918871550017536/dont-dwell-on-the-mistakes-kiyokos-gentle
Kudos: 4
Collections: Haikyuu Olympics Bang





	Finding the Rhythm

Sucking in a deep breath, Yachi followed the event staff out towards the floor. She ran her hands down the front of her vibrant blue leotard, both straightening the fabric and trying to wick away the sweat forming on her palms. She still couldn’t believe that she was performing at the Olympics. It was beyond her wildest imagination.

Stepping onto the floor, she raised her free arm up and smiled to the crowd, quickly dropping out of it to get set into her opening position. The warning beep sounded, followed by the first notes of her music. Yachi spun around, beginning a series of chaînés turns while the hoop spun around her neck in unison. She rose one arm up through the hoop on her final turn before dropping her shoulder and allowing the hoop to free itself from her neck and make a single rotation around her raised shoulder.

She caught it seamlessly, executing a few dance steps before stepping through the hoops and throwing a small toss from her foot. She danced a short sequence working the hoop around her body as she did so before throwing the hoop up and out. Completing a split leap beneath it, managing to catch the hood on her leading leg on the way down. Spinning out of the leap, she pushed on through her routine.

The music began to pick up, not that she could hear it with the sound of her own heartbeat drowning out her surroundings. Her movements became faster, more acrobatic, as she made her way across the floor: through, around, and under her hoop as she danced, flipped, and twirled herself around the floor.

Hitting the front corner of the floor she executed a series of pirouettes. She fumbled the hoop a bit, the judges weren’t likely to miss the mishandling of the apparatus. Trying her best to put the mistake out of her mind, Yachi pushed on. She came to the riskiest component of her routine, a front walkover, throwing her hoop high into the air. She rolled underneath it, kicking her body up from the floor in a quick back walkover, catching the hoop on her leg as it came down once more. She beamed, having missed that catch many times prior. 

With a few more flourishing spins of the hoop on her arms she danced towards the edge of the floor again, sending the hoop up for one last major toss. Yachi did a series of snappy chaînés turns, ending them by sliding down easily into the splits just in time to catch the hoop and situate it around her body. One small roll on the floor and she was sitting up on her knees, one hand down on the hood and the other raised above her head in her final pose.

She grinned as she stood from the floor, feeling that she did the best she could. She placed a small kiss to the hoop as she headed down to join her mother, who also happened to be her coach, to wait for her scores.

***

Newly dressed in her next costume, this time a dark emerald green with gold accents, she kept her head high as she walked out onto the floor. She was pretty sure her heart was trying to crawl out of her throat, but she pretended it was down where it was meant to be. She needed to focus. Her last apparatus went well, she could do this.

Positioning herself to begin, Yachi stretched and lengthened her body the best she could at her short stature, arms and legs fully outstretched, her golden ball balancing on her raised palms. At the sound of the buzzer she took her first step out of the pose, the song kicking in a beat later. This time, instead of gentle piano music, the song was grittier with a harsher beat. Officials would likely use the term  _ dynamic _ .

Yachi liked this particular routine. It was different from the standard routines that rhythmic gymnasts performed.  _ Abstract _ . It wasn’t the usual graceful and worn out movements. It was more fun. There was more freedom in this piece.

Her first combination of movements were small and simple, requiring less control of the ball as it stayed close to her body. Yachi allowed herself to breathe before the first large movement. She gracefully threw the golden ball into the air. Yachi followed it from the center of the mat to the upper corner, turning tightly before doing a forward roll below it. She caught the ball beneath her, using her knees to pick it up as she stood and easily transitioned into a series of pirouettes. She executed a few smaller tosses while she turned. 

Making her way to the back of the mat. Two leaps of two variations, the first with a bit lower of a toss, followed by a toss with much more elevation. She used the height to her advantage, another few tight turns being done below the ball before she caught it. Yachi wasted no time in moving onto a cartwheel, allowing her to change momentum. She took a second to breathe, posing before she stepped back out, rolling the ball over her arms as she took to the center of the mat.

The ball rolled from one shoulder to the other as she focused on a dance combination with tight, trickier uses of the ball. She let the ball roll back off her neck and bounce, kicking her leg over it. With the ball easily landing back in her grasp, she smiled just as the music changed, vocals now echoing around her. They only lasted a few seconds, but from that point on, Yachi’s routine shifted into much more high energy. She wouldn’t have many chances to stop and collect herself.

In practice, Yachi had trouble towards the end of her routine. It was mostly due to fatigue, but much to her surprise things went well. She never had a slip up and lost control of the ball while she pushed through the taxing portion of the routine. She smiled brilliantly as she rolled over, hitting her final pose, the ball held outstretched above her head where she was kneeling on the mat dramatically. She did it.

She pulled herself up off the ground, placing a kiss to the ball as she walked off the mats and joined her mom to wait for the scores. She tried not to let her smile falter as she sat down. Yachi felt good about what she’d put out on the floor. It wasn’t perfect, she did have a moment of contact with the ball that she shouldn’t have had that could cost her points, but Yachi was sure that was her best attempt at the routine.

***

Yachi straightened her shoulders, trying her best to ignore the fact the high collar of her bedazzled costume was scratching her. It was beautiful, but she couldn’t wait to take the garment off. She just needed to make it through this routine.

Clubs were Yachi’s favorite apparatus. She thought she was pretty good with them too. This was the event that would either make or break her. Her scores so far weren’t great, but they weren’t terrible either. If she has a flawless performance and someone else fumbles, she has a fighting chance to make the podium.

She took to her opening pose. The buzzer sounded and she opened with a high throw. Yachi spun below the lone club in the air before catching it with ease. She immediately folded herself backwards into a simple backbend, which she used to slide herself onto the mat for some floor work.

Yachi tossed a club, rolled beneath it, caught it, then tossed the other, doing the same. A handstand to front walkover served as her method to getting back to her feet before dancing her way across the mat, using the clubs to accentuate her movements and showing her skill of handling the apparatus.

The rhythm of her music changed and her movements along with it. She smiled as she lept and tumbled, clubs in tow. She had two more high tosses, both of which she caught easily. Yachi’s confidence grew as she snagged the club out of the air and prepared for her favorite part of the routine.

She did a split leap, dropping a club to the ground while she did it. It bounced below her and right back into her hand. She couldn’t help the grin that crept onto her face. It was a move unique to her, and she was always excited when she did it in a very controlled precise manner. 

She took a moment to pause with the music before the tone and rhythm shifted once again. To match, her movements became faster, more intricate. Only a few more seconds and her routine would be over. Yachi tried to think if she’d noticed any obvious mistakes so far. She thought she’d executed everything well. This may be her best score yet.

Hitting center mat she threw one of her clubs, getting as much height as she could on it. Yachi spun and tossed the other one at a much lower height. She caught the low toss and followed it with a front walkover. She reached for the other club, ready to catch it and end her routine, but the tips of her fingers only grazed it. She had to lunge for it, the club hitting the ground and bouncing further away. Yachi managed to get her hand on it, but it was too horribly obvious. She went the whole routine without a mistake and made a colossal one at the very end.

She got up slowly, the tears already pricking at her eyes. She was devastated. Yachi didn’t even want to face her mother right now, but she made her way over to sit and wait for the scores. She leaned down, elbows on her knees as she took a moment to breathe and calm her tears that were now escaping. Yachi had thought that he mom might yell at her, scold her for making such a big error, but she said nothing, a gentle hand resting on Yachi’s back until they were free to head back and prepare for the final apparatus. 

Yachi sniffled as she quickly changed into her next outfit. She couldn’t believe she’d managed to fumble her club at such an important event. That basically sealed the deal for her not being able to catch up to the front runners of the competition. Once she got her leotard situated, she headed over to look at the monitor and catch the last few club routines before the ribbon routines began.

Yachi’s costume for ribbon had a primarily white and transparent bodice, with red paneling down the center. The bottom consisted of black fabric and tassels, and of course the entire garment was covered in stones and glitter. As she watched the gorgeous pale, blonde Russian competitor, her fingers toyed with the silk of her ribbon. It matched her leotard perfectly. It was a black, red, and white gradient.

Yachi let out an audible gasp when the Russian tossed one of her clubs and did a leap beneath it, not quite managing to snag the club out of the air before it hit the ground. A few other girls that were milling about, preparing for their next apparatus. Alisa was a favorite to take the gold, seeing her make a major mistake was incredibly unexpected. She did, however, recover more gracefully than Yachi had.

“Don’t dwell on the mistakes.” Kiyoko’s gentle voice startled Yachi, who quickly whirled around to face Kiyoko. “You can’t change the past, so put it out of your mind and focus on the next routine.” Kiyoko smiled softly, patting Yachi on the shoulder before stalking off to take the floor for her ribbon routine.

Yachi watched in awe as Kiyoko made her way out. She looked like an angel in her white costume with goal detailing. Her ribbon was white, yellow, and purple. It suited her. Her music was haunting and ethereal, adding to the angelic vibes that she gave off. It was stunning. Kiyoko was stunning.

Kiyoko’s routine was flawless, of course, and she got high marks for it. Yachi was getting jittery. She had to wait for two more girls to take their turn on the floor before she was up for her ribbon routine. This was the last apparatus. One last performance before she could finally breathe normally.

Yachi loved performing, but she was always so nervous. She loved losing herself in the music and letting herself go. It was like being free, even though she was being judged and scored on her performances.

***

Yachi’s ribbon performance went well. She had some fears of the ribbon getting tangled, or missing a catch, but in the end it was alright. She caught all her tosses, though she did have a few throws that were short. It wasn’t the end of the world, and Yachi pushed herself to keep mistakes or scores out of her mind. She let this routine be as it was, a way to let go and perform. It was fun and exhilarating, and she felt so much more at ease.

By the time Yachi hit her final pose, she’d forgotten about the crowd and the judges. She beamed, the ribbon draped elegantly over her arms. And that was that. Her final performance for the Olympic games was completed.

***

Yachi clapped politely as the three mentalists took their places on the podium, accepting their respective medals. Kiyoko was glowing as she accepted her silver medal, Alisa, the pretty Russian managed to get the bronze despite dropping her club.

Yachi was genuinely happy for them. She was happy to have just been able to qualify. She felt she did the best she could, so earning a medal didn’t matter to her. She got to perform on the biggest possible stage. That’s all she needed.

“Congratulations!” Yachi chirped once Kiyoko and the other medalists finished their photo op.

“Thank you,” Kiyoko smiled, a soft pink tint to her cheeks. “You did well today, too.” Now it was Yachi’s turn to blush. Kiyoko always made her nervous.

“Thanks,” she managed to sputter, about to argue that she wasn’t up to par with the other competitors, but Kiyoko cut her off.

“You just barely missed the podium,” Kiyoko tipped her head to the side, a stand of her silky black hair pulling loose from her tight bun. “Fifth on the world stage isn’t bad, you know.” Kiyoko put her hand on the small of Yachi’s back, guiding her towards the locker room and changing area. “Next time you’ll have to make the podium.” Kiyoko winked, causing a fuse to short in Yachi’s brain.

**Author's Note:**

> This was part of the HQ Olympic Bang! Please check out the artwork that my partner, katrstjarna over on Tumblr, created to go along with it! https://katrstjarna.tumblr.com/post/625918871550017536/dont-dwell-on-the-mistakes-kiyokos-gentle


End file.
